


Tattered Knots

by Scarlet_Curls



Series: Always There for You - A Collection of Renora Oneshots [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Childhood Friends, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Cultural Differences, Gen, Hair Brushing, Height difference? No no no. We're doing HAIR LENGTH differences, Orphanage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29284878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Curls/pseuds/Scarlet_Curls
Summary: When Ren and Nora are taken in by an orphanage, their hair is matted and infested with lice. The carer wants to cut it, but Ren refuses to let go of his dead culture's custom.
Relationships: Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie
Series: Always There for You - A Collection of Renora Oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150589
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Tattered Knots

They were dropped off at sunrise by a baker who caught them sifting through his dump. Two mysterious children, both from unknown villages completely wiped out. They had wandered through forests dense with grimm until they stumbled into Mistral. By all probability, they should've died before they even met each other.

Daisy was the one who answered the door when they arrived. She ushered them in and gave the starving souls some food and water. Only when they had licked every crumb from their plates and gulped down every drop of water did she ask them for their names.

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The first knew how to spell his name. The second couldn't write at all.

They were a tragic site. Clothes fraying. Covered in grime. Plaque-plastered teeth. Tangled, nit-infested hair. She scrubbed them clean and brushed their teeth. Nora protested much of it, but Ren (as he preferred to be called) behaved himself throughout. When it came to their hair however, the roles reversed.

Nora squeaked and squirmed as Daisy tried to brush her hair.

"Nora, darling. Please stay still." She brushed from the tips of her hair as gently as she could.

"It hurts," she whined, "And it's taking forever!"

"There's nothing wrong with a little patience, darling."

She was right though. It was taking forever. Half an hour and she had barely progressed a few inches. Daisy sighed in defeat.

"Tell you what, why don't we cut it all off? You'll be on your merry way much sooner."

Nora grinned and bounced in her chair. "Chop it all off! Chop it all off!" she sang.

Half an hour later, she had short hair and no more lice. Nora skipped into the room where Ren waited for his turn.

"Hey, Ren." She bounded up to his chair. He looked up from his picture book. "Look at me now!" She twirled around with the biggest grin on her face. "Do you like it?"

Ren didn't answer. He stared at her new haircut, and slowly reached a hand up to his own hair.

Nora's face fell, and she blinked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

Ren looked up at Daisy. "Are you going to cut mine?"

"Yes, darling." She reached out a hand, but he curled into a tight ball.

"No!" he protested, clutching and shielding his tangled nest from the carer. Lice scurried across his dry hands. "Please, don't cut it."

She peered down at him, trying to find his face in the ball. "Why not, darling? It's perfectly normal for boys to have short hair."

He shook his head, not daring to look up. "Not at home, in Kuroyuri."

The words dropped like a brick on her heart. So that was where he came from. It had been months. Everyone who had lived there was assumed dead. If they escaped into the woods, they would've been ravaged by grimm. This boy, by some miracle, was the last remnant of a dead culture.

"Fix it. Don't cut it."

She wanted to heed his wishes after such an event, but even she couldn't afford to hand out favours that large. "It'll take too long. A day's work."

His grip on his hair tightened. "I don't care."

"I'm sorry. There's no time. I have other duties." Daisy tried to pry Ren's fingers from his hair, but he thrashed in her grip, falling from his chair. She reached for him, prepared to carry the child to the other room if she had to, as she did with other unruly orphans, but Nora threw herself over him.

"Don't hurt Ren!"

Daisy gaped at the accusation. "I-I'm not going to, darling. He's going to be even more hurt if we don't do something about his hair."

Nora's brow furrowed for a moment. She sat up and held out her open palm. "Give me the hairbrush."

"I'm sorry?"

"You don't have time, but I have loads of time!"

Daisy sighed. "Nora, this is several hours of work."

"There's nothing wrong with a little patience, darling," the girl quipped. Daisy paused, then chuckled. Clever girl. There was no harm in letting her try.

Daisy fetched the brush and detangling spray. Ren yelped when Nora dug the brush near the top of his crown and pulled with unusual strength in her eagerness. Daisy taught her to use the spray and start at the tips. Nora caught on quickly, and properly began the slow, tedious task of brushing out every cluster of knots.

Daisy left to attend to her other duties, checking in on them every hour or so. Despite Nora's efforts to be gentle, the repetitive pulling still caused his scalp to ache horribly, which he expressed through the smallest winches. He denied Nora's offer to stop every time, and not once did Nora show any sign of giving up.

Sometimes Ren would fill the silence by reading to Nora, if the pain didn't break his concentration. Others, Nora would chatter about all the exciting adventures to be had in Mistral. Now they would have time for all the fun stuff without the everyday struggle of survival. Daisy thought she might be giving him an even bigger headache with all the babble, but it seemed to distract him from the pain, if only a little.

Four hours in, Ren and Nora had a break for late lunch. Impressively enough, Nora had the job half done.

"How do you feel?" Daisy asked her.

Nora yawned. "Tired."

"Are you going to stop?"

"Nope!"

Five hours later, Nora was almost done, but obviously exhausted. Her stomach grumbled loud enough for Daisy to hear from across the room. Her posture swayed as she struggled to remain awake. Her fast-paced, rhythmic tugs of the brush became slow and clunky.

Ren noticed these signs and peaked over his shoulder at her. "Take a break, Nora."

Nora shook her head, failing to contain a yawn. "Not yet. Almost there."

Daisy crouched beside them. "You've done enough. Go get some food and rest. I'll take over from here."

"No, I can-"

"Nora." Daisy tugged the brush from her weak grip. "When you wake up tomorrow, Ren's hair will be all fixed up."

Nora's baggy eyes narrowed, scrutinising her for any ill intent of chopping off Ren's lovely hair, no doubt.

"I'll be fine, Nora."

She trusted his word more than Daisy's. "Okay, Ren. See ya later."

"See you."

Nora dragged her tired feet out of the room and along the hallway in search of the kitchens. Daisy went to work detangling the upper crown of his head.

"She really cares about you."

Ren shrugged.

"I don't know many friends willing to brush someone's hair for nine hours."

Ren hugged his knees to his chest. "I saved her life."

This perked Daisy's interest. "You did?" He nodded. "I see. A fantastic way to show her gratitude."

"But she saved mine too," Ren said. "She doesn't know."

Daisy nodded, a soft smile forming. The quiet boy and the boisterous girl had an unusual relationship indeed; one so deep that she could not comprehend it, and neither could they themselves. At least not yet.

"You know what I think?" He peaked over his shoulder at her. "I think you deserve every ounce of care she gives you. And she," Daisy stroked the brush through his hair a final time, "deserves all that you give her as well, even if it's just your company." She stood. "Come on. Let's go to the bathroom. Need to comb out your nits before I put you to bed."

Daisy worked fast, used to dealing with outbreaks of lice among the children and staff. In less than an hour, his hair was clean, dry, and nit-free. He sprung up as soon as she finished and tried jumping up to see himself in the mirror, but was ultimately too short. Daisy lifted him up onto the sink, and when he met his reflection's gaze, it was as if it was his first time seeing himself.

She guessed what ran through Ren's head as he combed fingers through his soft, shiny locks. He stared at a version of himself he hadn't seen in months, a reflection that existed when he had a home, a future, a family. His skin still clung to bone, his eyes still weighed down by dark bags, and his body still covered with bruises and scars from the cruel conditions he had crawled through.

But now he had a new home, future, and family. Were they as prosperous as the life he had before the tragedy? Likely not. Daisy knew an orphanage could never replace such things completely, but they gave far more than the streets and slums, and she took pride in that.

Ren stroked the lone magenta streak that hung beside his face. That morning it had been lost in the nest of knots, but now it was visible and a perfect match for his eyes. It looked very bizarre to Daisy, but oddly charming at the same time.

After ample staring, he yawned and hopped off the sink. "Where's Nora?"

"In the dorm. I'll show you to your bed." He nodded but didn't take her out-stretched hand, staring it down. Daisy dropped it, a pang of guilt in her heart. "I'm sorry for frightening you earlier today." She waited for him to say it was fine, without anything being fine, but he surprised her.

"Thank-you," said Ren, "for helping us today."

Daisy smiled warmly. He was very well-mannered for a child from the streets. "You're very welcome."

He followed her along the hallway to the dorm. She opened the door slowly, mindful of the creaking hinges, and peered through the darkness for an empty bed. Ren, however, skinny as he was, slipped through the crack and headed for the bed with a tuft of short ginger hair peeking from the duvet.

"Ren!" Daisy called after him in a hushed voice. He ignored her, or perhaps didn't hear. She chased after him as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb the other children, but still they stirred. By then, Ren had already reached Nora's bed.

"Nora," he whispered, poking her nose.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Ren?" It took a few moments for his new (or old) appearance to register in her mind, and she jolted upright. "Ren!" she squealed, and Daisy hushed her, signalling the other children to go back to sleep.

"Hi," said Ren.

Nora grinned. "You're as pretty as when I first met you."

A few kids who overheard snickered, but Daisy heard Ren respond with something rather odd, but very genuine.

"Thank-you."

"There's a spare bed here," said Daisy, pointing to the one on Nora's left.

Ren nodded. "Good night, Nora."

"Good night, Ren." She tapped his nose. "Boop."


End file.
